FOREX: J.P. Morgan On Bearish USD Backdrop

Gov Kugler (permanent voter, leans dovish) said Friday that rates were likely to be held for "some time" - making her the latest FOMC participant to express little impetus for a cut in the near-term.

• "The cautious and the prudent step is to hold the federal funds rate where it is for some time, given that combination of factors, given that the economy is solid, given the fact that we haven't achieved our 2% target, and given the fact that we may have uncertainties and other factors that may be pushing up inflation or maybe reducing output and growth into the future."
• "We reduced our policy rate 100 basis points through December, but the recent progress on inflation has been slow and uneven, and inflation remains elevated. There is also considerable uncertainty about the economic effects of proposals of new policies." She noted in a Q&A that inflation has recently "firmed a little bit."
• She noted that the January jobs report is "consistent with a healthy labor market that is neither weakening nor showing signs of overheating,"

The Federal Reserve posted positive net earnings in the week to Feb 5, the first time it has done so since September 2022. The $0.4B uptick compares with an average of negative $1.3B over  the preceding 6 months.

• Technically, this was a less negative "deferred asset". When the Fed "earns" money on its asset holdings after netting out expenses, it remits this money to the Treasury. With the Fed posting negative earnings for the past 2+ years, it is falling in to deeper and deeper cumulative negative earnings, a "deferred asset" which means that until the figure goes back into a positive balance, no remittances are made to Treasury.
• The "deferred asset" is currently $220.8B.
• The variability of earnings is due to the relationship between rates paid on Fed liabilities versus those paid on its assets.
• The post-GFC rise in the balance sheet saw ZIRP policy and a large set of Treasury and MBS holdings, meaning Fed remittances to the Treasury rose from  0.2% of GDP and 1.3% of government receipts in 2007 to 0.6% and 3.4%, respectively, in 2015, per St Louis Fed calculations. The 2015-18 tightening cycle saw a pullback in remittances, with about $900B remitted to the Treasury over the course of the 2011-20 period.
• The pandemic balance sheet expansion and return to ZIRP saw remittances pick up strongly again, but they have since pulled back. The 52-week average of weekly remittances has shifted, from showing about $10B in monthly "losses" in late 2023/early 2024, to around $6B on a monthly basis now.
• This reflects first the inversion of the yield curve amid the Fed's tightening cycle, and the slow normalizing of the curve since then.
• Unless the Fed easing goes much further, the Fed is unlikely to transmit cash to Treasury for some time.

• RES 4: 1.5000 Psychological round number 
• RES 3: 1.4948 High Mar 2003  
• RES 2: 1.4814 High Apr 2003
• RES 1: 1.4600/1.4793 Round number resistance / High Feb 3    
• PRICE: 1.4318 @ 16:55 GMT Feb 7  
• SUP 1: 1.4270 Low Feb 5
• SUP 2: 1.4261 Low Jan 20 and a key support
• SUP 3: 1.4178 High Nov 6 ‘24
• SUP 4: 1.4120 Low Dec 11

USDCAD is unchanged, despite some notable mid-session volatility. The pair is trading close to this week’s lows at the close. For now, the latest move down appears corrective and the primary uptrend remains intact. Monday’s cycle high, reinforces and strengthens bullish conditions. The break higher confirmed a resumption of the uptrend and opens 1.4814 next, the Apr 2003 high. Key support to watch lies at 1.4261, the Jan 20 low. A clear breach of this level would alter the picture and signal a reversal.